Thursday, September 3, 2009

"Contemporary Voices in Visual Narrative"

Utah State University Department of Art Exhibition: "Contemporary Voices in Visual Narrative"in the Chase Fine Arts Center's new Studio 102

Aug 31-Sept 26, 2009

“‘Contemporary Voices in Visual Narrative,’ curated by assistant professor Eileen Doktorski, brings together seven artists who are innovative in the realm of narrative art,” said exhibition coordinator Scott Foster. “Their diverse works convey messages that are both timely and personal. Collectively, these works share themes of captivity and isolation. They invite viewers to consider the images and modes of presentation. Visitors who bring thought and imagination to the process of deciphering each work will be rewarded by the content revealed.”

The 2009-2010 Tanner Project “Crossing Boundaries” is a year-long series of art exhibits, theater performances and national and international artists and scholars in presentations at USU.

“Contemporary Voices in Visual Narrative” is a hosted by the Caine School of the Arts and is supported by the Tanner Foundation, the Utah Arts Council and the Utah Humanities Council. Artists with work in the exhibition include Donna Anderson Kam, drawing, San Francisco, Calif.; John Feodorov, sculptural installation and painting, Seattle, Wash.; Joan Fitzsimmons, photography/collage, Hamden, Conn.; Jacek Malinowski, video, Warsaw, Poland; Wendy Red Star, photography, Portland, Ore.; Shawn Richards, painting, Raleigh, N.C.; and Jose Torres-Tama, performance, New Orleans, La.

Utah State's art school is sure to turn heads with its ambititious year-long Crossing Boundaries, an indisiciplinary arts project featuring 50 artists, both visiting and faculty, presenting work that celebrates cultural diversity and sometimes takes critical looks at the inequities in American society.

It kicked off Monday with Jose Torres Tama's pyrotechnic performance piece "Cone of Uncertainty: New Orleans after Katrina," staged in the Morgan Theatre.

Video clips of Torres Tama's work are hanging through Sept. 26 in the Chase Fine Arts Center's new Studio 102 as part of a seven-artist exhibition. "Contemporary Voices in Visual Narrative" uses sculpture, painting and video to reflect on themes of isolation and captivity.

That’s one way of saying viewer discretion is advised. Take Jacek Malinowski’s video installation HalfAWoman, for example, about a legless woman starring in a shoe commercial.

Check the Tribune's Sept. 13 arts section to read more about this provocative program that will feature three or four public functions, such as roundtables, performances, openings and lectures, a week through the end of the school year. Studio 102 serves at Crossing Boundaries' headquarters with rotating exhibitions.